Joy Burch again taking credit for Canberra’s education outcomes

ACT Minister for Education and Training, Joy Burch, has welcomed the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which assessed students both internationally and locally in areas of mathematical, scientific and reading literacy in 2012.

Almost 510,000 students from 65 different countries took part in the assessment. Nationally 14,481 students from 775 schools across Australia took part. This included 908 students across 45 ACT public, Catholic and non-government schools.

“I am pleased that the ACT consistently ranked the highest or second highest amongst Australian states and territories in mathematical, science and reading literacy,” Ms Burch said.

“However it is evident from this report that locally and as a nation there are areas where we can continue to improve.”

In 2012:

— The ACT significantly outperformed the OECD average in all areas.

— ACT performed first, or equal first (with Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria) when compared nationally in reading, mathematics and science.

— If the ACT was considered as a country in terms of scores achieved it would rank strongly including tenth (out of 65) in mathematics which is equivalent to the average performance of students in Poland and Canada; seventh in science, equivalent to Vietnam and Korea; and sixth in reading equivalent to Finland and Ireland.

What’s Your opinion?

Best of all the teachers can’t tell the kids they’re failing. Everyone needs a gold star because everyone is equal.

Its time to cut the crap. looks like all the smart boards are sucking the smart out of the kids.

ACT had one of the best systems then we went and superschooled it with all that other rubbish. Absolute waste. They didn’t fund schools the last 100 years like they are today but they got results. Money alone is not the answer

“If the ACT was considered as a country in terms of scores achieved it would rank”….. with a number of countries which are less affluent than us, including one which, within living memory, was almost bombed back to the Stone Age – hurrah ! let joy be unrestrained!

We only just scored above WA on a number of main indicators and they have a high proportion of indigenous students. The ACT is the best of a bad bunch.

And as for letting Joy be unrestrained, I think it best that we keep her well and truly under wraps.

“If the ACT was considered as a country in terms of scores achieved it would rank strongly including tenth (out of 65) in mathematics which is equivalent to the average performance of students in Poland and Canada; seventh in science, equivalent to Vietnam and Korea; and sixth in reading equivalent to Finland and Ireland.”

All of those countries with the possible exception of Ireland have rural areas that require significantly more funding to survive. Given that ACT does not have this problem shouldn’t we be doing much better than all those countries?

Watson said :

*This included 908 students across 45 ACT public, Catholic and non-government schools.*

That’s 20 students per school. How did they choose those students? I fail to see how this says anything about the general quality of the education system…

“If the ACT was considered as a country in terms of scores achieved it would rank”….. with a number of countries which are less affluent than us, including one which, within living memory, was almost bombed back to the Stone Age – hurrah ! let joy be unrestrained!

“42% of Australian 15-year-olds failing to meet national minimum standards in maths, and 36% not reaching the same benchmark in reading. In less than a decade, Australian maths literacy performance has declined by the equivalent of more than half a year of schooling.”

“Australia’s declining achievement has been fuelled by both a fall in the number of students achieving at higher levels and a rise in the number of students achieving at lower levels. “

“PISA has alerted the Australian school system to a decline in reading literacy achievement and now a significant decline in mathematical literacy achievement.”

Maybe it’s all part of a cunning plan to make Australians dumb enough to vote for Tony Abbott’s Liberals?